This invention relates to non-refillable fitments, and more particularly to a pouring fitment assembly for rendering bottles containing pourable consumables or the like non-refillable.
Bottlers of quality consumables are plagued by the unauthorized refilling of bottles in which their product is sold by the unscrupulous. In the liquor industry, for instance, refilling of bottles originally containing high quality premium goods with either lower quality or adulterated mixtures, or even a dilution of the original goods, is notorious. Furthermore, recent events have led all manufacturers of consumables to seek ways to render products tamper-proof. In areas such as the liquor industry where product is frequently dispensed from opened containers, such a need is especially great because here a broken seal on the container will not provide an indication that tampering may have occurred. Thus for many reasons, an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage which stands, for example, on a bar shelf or the like should be tamper-proof to provide protection to the public, the owner of the establishment and the original bottler of the goods.
While the need for devices to achieve this function has long been recognized and recently has become acute, the many attempts to provide devices of this type have not generally met with great success. Thus, while a rather substantial body of prior art directed to non-refillable bottles and non-refillable bottle closures exists, the actual number of these devices which one finds in use on products in the marketplace is very slight.
The principal reasons that non-refillable bottles and/or non-refillable closures therefor have not widely proliferated in the marketplace are that most, if not all, of the devices which are available are either not effective or impose untoward expense upon those seeking to render their product safe, secure and tamper-proof. More particularly, while many of the designs of non-refillable bottles and closures available in the patent literature are quite capable of frustrating casual attempts at refilling or adulterating the contents of a bottle, such devices fail to either stop or provide plain indicia of tampering against those willing to take painstaking effort to achieve their purpose. Thus frequently, non-refillable bottles or bottles rendered non-refillable through the use of accessory valves or caps can readily be compromised by a pin inserted through the top of the container and used to hold open the valve. Additionally, shaking or tilting the bottle while the same is filled will frequently overcome known valving systems, enabling the same to be readily compromised.
To enhance the difficulty, known prior art devices are not only relatively expensive in their own right but typically cannot be employed with standard bottles and caps. Instead, such prior art devices require either specially blown bottles or bottles having specially configured or finished neck portions to accommodate the valving mechanism. When these disadvantages are not present, the housing or the like employed for the valving mechanism typically requires mounting on the neck portion of the bottle as an extension thereof, rendering the resulting product unsightly and maintaining the valving mechanism at an exposed location where the same is readily available for purposes of tampering or the like. Additionally, the many cooperating parts typically employed in prior art non-refillable bottles or closures render them subject to clogging and sticking. As a result, such devices are rendered either self-defeating from the standpoint of being refilled or a liability to the manufacturer when the contents become unavailable to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,415 as issued to Delonghi on Feb. 5, 1985, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,558 as issued to Crisp et al. on May 14, 1974 exemplify non-refillable fitments available in the prior art which result in an extension to the neck of the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,326,340 as issued to S. R. Dummer on Aug. 10, 1943, U.S. Pat. No. 2,307,325 as issued to O. H. Lee on Jan. 5, 1943, U.S. Pat. No. 1,015,635 as issued to C. E. Rausseau on Jan. 23, 1912, U.S. Pat. No. 773,294 as issued to C. Medley on Oct. 25, 1904, and U.S. Pat. No. 654,266 as issued to H. B. Mason on July 24, 1900 exemplify non-refillable bottles or fitments therefor which require a specialized bottle.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide non-refillable fitments which may be employed with standard bottles and caps and used therewith in much the same manner as a conventional cork.
A further object of this invention is to provide non-refillable fitments which are simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide non-refillable fitments which may be readily incorporated and installed in a standard bottling line.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide non-refillable fitments employing a self-centering valve in the form of an annular ring exhibiting inner and outer circumferentially disposed sealing surfaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-refillable vented fitment wherein the venting structure is displaced in order to deny ready access to a valve and valve seat.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in conjunction with the claims appended hereto.